Serum XXIPA Double IPA | DuClaw Brewing Company

0 characters.
We love reviews! Turn your rating into one with ≥ 150 characters. Awesome. Thanks for the review!

In English, explain why you're giving this rating. Your review must discuss the beer's attributes (look, smell, taste, feel) and your overall impression in order to indicate that you have legitimately tried the beer. Nonconstructive reviews may be removed without notice and action may be taken on your account.

User Ratings & Reviews

This was poured into a tulip. The appearance was a glossy/semi-hazy burnt orange color with a slim finger’s worth white foamy head that quickly dissipated leaving some clingy messy lacing. The smell had some sweet apricot roaming over top of some light orange and lemon. Wet fresh grassy underneath rides a light caramel maltiness. The taste took all of those previously mentioned flavors to combine and leave a dry fruity aftertaste and finish. On the palate, this one sat about a medium on the body with a fairly decent sessionability about it. Carbonated nicely as a DIPA, the bitterness is there to leave an adequate harshness. Overall, I say this was a pretty good DIPA, nothing over the top, but it fits the style and I like the apricot in it.

As I continue to winnow through the Bottle Backlog here at Chez Woody, I am finding beers that I do not even remember purchasing! In fact, I have so many DuClaw beers hanging around that I am embarking on a horizontal tasting for the next few days. This should be interesting.

From the bottle: "Give your palate a big injection of hop bitterness well balanced by malty sweetness with this smooth, medium bodied, copper colored nectar that takes India Pale Ale to the next level. Pop the top and ... get all hopped up"; "Respect_the_Fluid".

I Pop!ped the cap & decided to resume respecting the fluid with a gentle pour. I know that this one was a semi-recent purchase, but since I do not remember precisely when I bought it, I figured that gentility might be in order. Once I had decanted a fair amount of the fluid, I gave it a really vigorous in-glass swirl that raised two-plus fingers of foamy, soapy, light-tan head that hung around briefly and then fell to wisps, leaving great lacing in its wake. Color was a slightly hazy Deep Amber/Light Copper to Copper (SRM = > 13, < 17). Nose had a pungent hoppiness, very vegetal and green, almost like a wet hopped AIPA. There was a good bit of pine mintiness also. Mouthfeel was medium. The taste was very cool and minty, not exactly pine, more towards wintergreen or Life Savers Cryst-O-Mint. Once more, I felt like I was gargling with mouthwash, especially inhaling after the swallow. The finish was initially cool and dry, but then I got a shot of caramel malt sweetness on the extreme finish. It is, as others have noted, dangerously drinkable and my bottle noted it as 9% ABV. Phew!

12 oz bottle. Pours a dark coppery amber with a thin off-white head. Moderate lacing. Smells floral with pine and some citrus hops and caramel malts. Taste is ditto, with some alcohol burn and bitterness towards the end. Great mouthfeel. I honestly could have 2 or 3 of these, and for a dipa, that's dangerous! Well done DuClaw!!

On tap at Bel Air location. Some east coast brewers can make great IPAs, and this is one of them. In your face bitterness, but buttery smooth on the back end, super thick creamy head, lacing coats the glass. Plenty warm and glowing.

A: [3.50] Nice hearty 1 1/2 fingers of bright white head. The head is made of dense bubbles and has some really good retention. The bottle lists the ABV at (8.3%) but I cannot find a date code (kind of a sin for an IPA).

T: [3.25] Lots of bread and cracker maltiness up front. Maybe a hint of a fruity flavor early - I am getting blueberry to be honest. The malts play the key role in the flavor profile. Maybe a spark of bitter late from the hops.

M: [4.00] Medium body and good carbonation level. Slightly dry finish but easy enough drinking. There is no hint of alcohol.

O: [3.25] I'll start with the bad news. With no date info I have no idea if this is the beer as intended or I have a hop faded dud. But since Duclaw has decided not to add dates this is what they get for a review. Overall this lacked any hop character on the nose or on the palate. Nice malt bill but nothing piney, citrusy, fruity, etc. to accentuate the hops. That makes for a lackluster IPA.